The Warrior Priest Podcast

Self improvement is self destruction... “Let the youthful soul look back on life with the question: what have you truly loved up to now, what has elevated your soul, what has mastered it and at the same time delighted it? Place these venerated objects before you in a row, and perhaps they will yield for you, through their nature and their sequence, a law, the fundamental law of your true self…for...

Is Christianity compatible with the martial arts and the ancient samurai code of Bushido? The Reverend Sasamori Takemi, Methodist minister and pastor of the Komaba Eden Church in Tokyo, Japan and inheritor of three ancient martial arts traditions, unequivocally answers: "Yes!" In Bushido and Christianity, the Rev. Sasamori weaves together elements Japanese history, lessons from the Bible, and his...

“A man’s maturity is to have regained the innocence of a child at play.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

If you want to change the world, don't back down from the sharks. 

“…how ready they themselves are at bottom to make one pay; how they crave to be hangmen. There is among them an abundance of the vengeful disguised as judges, who constantly bear the word “justice” in their mouths like poisonous spittle, always with pursed lips, always ready to spit upon all who are not discontented but go their own way in good spirits…The will of the weak to represent some form o...

None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

What does it mean to focus on fundamentals as a martial artist, citizen, in our vocations, and for ourselves? 

It's always hard to understand things while we are in the middle of them. It's only when we look back that these things become clear, if ever. Just hold  onto God, know that whatever you are going through He can help you through it. He can use it for your benefit as well as others, just have faith. Kevin Ross' website: https://thesoulassassin.com

“You don't want to be in a place where there's no challenge. You might even quit your job if there's no challenge. Say, 'Well, that's a good job. It gives you security,' and you think, 'God, I can't stand this. It's eating away at my soul. It's all security and no challenge.' So why do you want a challenge?  Because that's what you're built for. You're built to take on a maximal load, right?...

What are we willing to do, and suffer, for the sake of a hit of dopamine? What are the consequences of failure to distinguish concrete reality from virtual reality? What must we do to stop giving bullies our lunch money?

Despite the fact that fighting is supposed to enable the men in Fight Club to rise beyond their innocuous existence, it in fact reinforces social order and power relations. Fight Club & Nietzsche: Overcoming Emasculation: https://youtu.be/NpxHFNvlUmU

How do we define family and friendship? What are the consequences when we don't have people we can call on when we're in trouble and need? How can we create and nurture relationships that strengthen, encourage, and empower others?

Before we decide to go to war with the world, maybe we should take a hard look at ourselves...  https://anchor.fm/donavon-riley/episodes/26-Steven-Pressfield---Selflessness-e9talg https://anchor.fm/donavon-riley/episodes/23-Steven-Pressfield---Tribes--Gangs-and-Terrorists-e9dltn https://anchor.fm/donavon-riley/episodes/24-Steven-Pressfield---Tribes--Gangs-and-Terrorists--part-2-e9j183

The Great Reset, the morals of multi-national corporations, and the question, "Who's going to stand up and fight back against injustice?"

Very often people will ask me about the effects of body type on jiu jitsu. It appears that many people hold the belief that there is an optimum body type in jiu jitsu that confers advantage over other body types. Even a moments reflection will reveal that this is false. A look at the medal platform at the world championships will always show a wide variety of body types which are represented in no...

When times are troubling, when people abandon us, and when we struggle to move through hardships, is there anything to be thankful for?

The foundation of a Nabeshima samurai should be in knowing this fact; in being deeply resolved to return this blessing by being useful; in serving more and more selflessly when treated kindly by the master ; in knowing that being made a ronin or being ordered to commit seppuku are also forms of service ; and in aiming to be mindful of the clan forever, whether one is banished deep in the mountains...

“Politics becomes even more of a magnet for self-aggrandizing sociopaths and liars than it already tends to be by nature, and men with no meaningful political power or authority waste their time and energy trying to convince complete strangers to convert to their way of thinking, even when those strangers have different group identities, different religious beliefs, and completely incompatible or...

Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one’s body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or co...

The Empire sells superficial identities that are fleeting, synthetic, empty and unsatisfying. In a world of single, spoiled boys who have been able to walk away from any commitment or association — lifetime brotherhood is a radical idea. Collective honor is a radical idea. Working to help people you know and care about instead of strangers is a radical idea.

“You must retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties. AND at the same time…You must confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” U.S. Navy Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale , originator of the Stockdale Paradox

The man who shuts himself away and avoids the company of men is a coward... Hagakure online: http://3yryua3n3eu3i4gih2iopzph.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/pdf/hagakure.pdf

Ancient societies gave the highest status to their heroes. Our society gives the highest status to victims. How did we get here? What defines a hero, what defines a victim, and why is the latter more popular today than ever?

To be prideful about your strength while your mettle is not yet established is likely to bring you shame in the midst of people. You are weaker than you look.

A noble man should be silent, thoughtful, and bold in battle - Havamal 15